Rob Keeling wrote:
I have been asked if I can set up some way of turning internet access on or off in individual computer areas.
The idea would be that teacher logs on to a page on our intranet, to enable/disable access for the lession.
I have looked at the documentation for squid guard, which looks like I can enable/disable the right bits and bobs, but I don`t know if I can edit the config files with a php script and things change without restarting squid/squidguard.
Does anyone run anything simalar?
Yup, we use CensorNet (www.censornet.com) which is a GPL project based on Debian. It allows us to "switch the internet on" (as the kids say) for lessons. We've set up each of our rooms on a separate profile that duplicates a week's timetable. The technicians set up the rooms for the day based on teacher's requests and it automatically switches on and off throughout the day. You can of course enable or disable access at shorter notice. The newer versions include a "manager" logon that would allow teachers to enable / disable access themselves. It's not as simple an interface as a "big red button", but they should be able to manage it with a little training. There is a £100 pa subscription for the Blacklist of websites, but if your filtering is already provided elsewhere, you wouldn't need this functionality. HTH, Tony